VulnerabilityPublished 22 Sep 2022Updated 27 May 2025

CVE-2022-40443: ZZCMS · An Absolute Path Traversal

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · public detection template (Nuclei) · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 2.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 85% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Sep 2022
Detectable: evidence found.
nuclei template: ZZCMS 2022 - Path Information Disclosure
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

AI-suggested

European organizations should immediately audit their use of ZZCMS 2022 and identify any instances of the /one/siteinfo.php endpoint. Specific mitigations include: 1) Implement strict input validation and sanitization on all file path parameters to prevent traversal sequences (e.g., ../). 2) Restrict file access to a designated safe directory using secure coding practices such as realpath checks and canonicalization. 3) Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules to detect and block path traversal patterns in HTTP requests. 4) Limit the web server's file system permissions to prevent unauthorized file reads beyond necessary directories. 5) Monitor web server logs for suspicious GET requests targeting /one/siteinfo.php or containing traversal payloads. 6) If possible, update or patch ZZCMS to a version that addresses this vulnerability once available. 7) Consider isolating or disabling the vulnerable endpoint if it is not essential for operations. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific vulnerable endpoint and the nature of the path traversal attack.

Description

An absolute path traversal vulnerability in ZZCMS 2022 allows attackers to obtain sensitive information via a crafted GET request sent to /one/siteinfo.php.

Impact

For European organizations using ZZCMS 2022, this vulnerability poses a risk of unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information such as configuration files, credentials, or other protected data stored on the web server. Such information leakage could facilitate further attacks like privilege escalation, lateral movement, or data exfiltration. Given the medium severity and network accessibility without authentication, attackers can remotely exploit this vulnerability without user interaction, increasing the risk profile. Organizations in sectors with strict data protection requirements (e.g., finance, healthcare, government) could face compliance issues under GDPR if sensitive personal data is exposed. Additionally, the exposure of internal system details could aid attackers in crafting more targeted attacks. Although no known exploits are reported, the presence of this vulnerability in a web-facing CMS component makes it a potential target for opportunistic attackers scanning for vulnerable installations.

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #6OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

github.com/liong007/ZZCMS/issues/1 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 Jul 2025, 03:11 UTC

Public exploits and detectiona Nuclei detection template

WeaknessesCWE-22

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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